Frogga,

Very nice to meet you. Not so much in these circumstances, but this is a great place to meet people that suffer and can relate to the pain of this awful disease.

I see how progressed your RSD has gotten in 5 years, through reading a few blogs. I feel that I am on your road...though no one can ever be certain. My prayers are with you. I am new to this site and do not know your entire story. But, I do wish that you weren't confined to a wheelchair.

Thanks for understanding MY pain as far as the shower goes. When you write the word "DROP", I cringe.

You descibed it perfectly. Thanks!

have you tried a warm bath with epson salts? i find it really helps to soothe the pain and decrease the swelling. getting in and out of the tub is rough but sometimes it is the best thing for me to do.
i also have a small heater in the bathroom to keep the temp up so there are no quick temperature changes.

Yes, I have used the Epsom Salt baths multiple times, but I didn't know why. My fiance just said that I should try it one time, and it did work. Now I know that others do as well.

The space heater has come up a couple times, so that seems like the way to go. That will be on the next shopping list. I live in Las Vegas, and the weather is so extreme. It's either 40 degrees in the winter or 120 in the summer. This will be my 1st summer here. So, hopefully the heat doesn't impact too much. The cold REALLY bothered me.

Thanks again for the advice. I have been feeling pretty good, no pains, and no ms yet. I will let you know how the US goes on Fri.

Thanks,
Heather

I have had RSD for 4 years and never had this happen, but I had a cryoprop(spelling) in 12/06 and the incision from that surgery has a reaction to water. SO weird. After 4 years and may surgeries and procedures I have never experienced this types of water/burning. Nothing surprises me anymore.

I feel as good as can be expected. Keep positive. NO STRESS...

ANN

Hi Heather!

Welcome to the group. Good bless you and your strength. I can only imagine how difficult this must all be with the baby on the way and the physical and mental strains that you have to deal with on top of the RSD. I have read that on occasion just being pregnant sometimes causes the body to remiss, but this is by the few that have actually found remission (nothing jurnalized). Welcome to the group and nice to meet you!

Get lotsa rest and try not to push to hard with your preparations for the newcomer. DO you know what you are having? How far along are you? Where are you located? There are a few, US companies I can forward you information on, for relief from feeding\diapering your joy if you are in the US.

Gentle Hugs,

Rain

It's very nice to meet you. Thanks for the kind words. Yes, this is already a struggle to begin with. I am fortunate that I am not sick yet. No pains, or beeding, so that's good.

I am either 7 or 11 weeks tomorrow, so I am unsure of the sex as of yet. I will find out at my first Ultrasound tomorrow. I live in Las Vegas, NV. It is so hot out here right now, OMG!

The temp extremes are hard to deal with. The shower is the worst right now. I flare-up after every shower. It's ridiculous. But oh well.

I am not going to gick up, I am going to get better. I want to be healthy and productive for my baby. Some may say that I am dreaming, but I won't let this disease take me down.

Any info in this area, would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again,
Heather

Hey Heather,

Nice to meet you. Dealing with the RSD and the pregnancy (and the stress of pregnancy) must all be sending your pain levels through the roof. Especially fears about medications etc.

Ok. lets be honest about showers. You can make the choice to not have them and either a) have a bath if you can tolerate that better or b) make your shower once a week and make sure you keep certain bits washed properly..

I will write more later but I have to go now - it was great to meet you!!

Love

Froggsy xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Me too.
I managed to get a shower stool through Occ Therapist. That helps a bit as I don't have to stand with water running down my affected leg but if I inadvertently reach for anything and a few drips of water fall from my wrist to my affected knee OMG.

The shower stool lets me sort of sit/stand with my leg out of the wetting and splashing zones of the shower but the breeze of a shower!!!oh dear.
I often end my very brief encounters with moving water in tears of pain.
Any temperature is agony for me too.

We also live in a semi-rural area on mains and as I sit here trying to write this I can here my wife screaming in response to the massive changes in water flow we get - from nothing to a blast like a water cannon. You can imagine the joy of showers for a CRPS affected body.
I can't physically get into the bath.

Then there is the breeze from the towel when drying the rest of the body setting of more allodynia. Even the breeze created by the water passing me on its way down to the drain is a killer.

I like to be clean just like the rest of you guys but gosh this condition makes even that hellish.

I'm not trying one-up-manship but people other than the RSD afflicted just don't get that such a simple thing is mind-blowing and a major task.

I would love to bathe and get the pleasure from it I used too once again as I'm sure you all would.

I not good in groups but I genuinely mean the following:

Showers are not fun! At all! I can empathise with you... Water pressure always seems too hard, the temperature is rough (keep adjusting it)... I end up stepping in and out of the water so much. The only RSD free spot that I kind of like having the water spray on is the front of my trunk, but then again sometimes I hurt there from the radiating pain from my back!

Drying off is about just as hard! Ugh... not something I look foward to, but I have to do it- and want to smell clean!

I try to do it as fast as I can (not very fast!), and when my pain is at it's lowest- usually early afternoon.

Oh, yes- and it always takes me time to "recover" from the shower! Sometimes quite a while- knocks my breath out and always drives the pain up.

Baths might be easier than showers, if you can get down in the bath (I cannot get down in the bath, so I just stand in the shower holding onto the safety rail).

Gentle hugs , and I wanted to say welcome, Heather!

Congrats on your pregnancy- I hope all will go well.

I have to get the sites together for you and then I will post. It is not in your area, but if you contact all the baby companies, they send tons of welcome kits, packages with coupons and such. There are a few that are super good. Will post them shortly

Huggy's

Rain